


On Love: Voice

by Pigfarts23



Series: On Love: Song [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Music, Background Viktuuri - Freeform, Bad Weather, But it's there, M/M, Not that bad weather has any impact on the plot, but that's ok i play saxophone, does Juilliard count as a college uni, dragging of saxophones, i hope it does, it's just there, it's there, not much, otayuri - Freeform, the OFCs are mentioned five times okay, the rest of the cast is just mentioned, there's a bit of otayuri, you just have to squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 07:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10079057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pigfarts23/pseuds/Pigfarts23
Summary: Au where Otabek and Yuri have to collaborate and they compose Agape together.The unholy music/college AU you didn't ask for but got anyway





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Somedrunkpirate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somedrunkpirate/gifts).



> Wow first off - thanks to everyone for all the kudos and comments on _On Music: Love_!! I'm touched and flattered!!! 
> 
> This is part of a series, but it is not necessary to read the first fic (Unless you want to know who one of the OFC's are (spoilers: it's a professor omg))
> 
> This is for somedrunkpirate who read the first fic and then proceeded to scream at me until I wrote this! So you can all thank her for this :) 
> 
> Special thanks to [Opal](http://opalescentgold.tumblr.com) and [iamanonniemouse](http://iamanonniemouse.tumblr.com) for all the Cobb Squints, laughs, puns, reading this, polishing it and making me sound like I actually know what I'm doing. (Don't be fooled. I don't know what I'm doing. Words are hard, okay?) You guys are awesome <333

When Yuri Plisetsky manages to force himself back into paying attention to what’s happening in lecture, he almost regrets it instantly.

“.. So you need to pair yourselves off. I would recommend starting on the assignment now, even though it’s due December 1st, and you _will_ be doing a live performance of it for the class and a few select professors. Right. Okay. Well, I’ve got to go; see you all next class.”

No _sane_ prof ever assigns anything on the first day of lecture. _Choir_ hasn’t even started up and this old hag is trying to get him to work?

 _Not_ going to happen.

_No way._

It’s just a thing that Yuri will _conveniently_ forget about amidst his busy life and then he’ll panic and finish it in a week.

Easy.

(There is no way this can go wrong. _At all._ )

As the class erupts into motion around him, Yuri folds the desk back down and stands up, bag slung over his shoulder and scowl firmly in place. The wave of students who have already escaped from the lecture hall is mixing with the horde that wants to enter, and the scowl Yuri keeps on his face clears a small path for him.

Very small.

Somehow he manages to squeeze through the crowd and escape into the fresh air, leaving the stifling air inside the university and far away from him.

* * *

The ideal plan was to keep university far away from him for as long as possible; choir practice brings him back to the university later that same day.

After fighting autumn’s early arrival, which she decided to announce with a _wonderful_ fanfare of dropping temperatures, a booming thunderstorm, and howling winds, Yuri somehow manages to get to the university for practice in one piece.

Because _why not_ keep the university open for practice when there’s a _raging_ rainstorm going on? It’s not like half the choir has to commute to campus, oh no.

Not at all.

Professor Lake doesn’t look too happy either as she hands him this year’s repertoire; she probably had to come back to the university as well.

Yuri looks down at his binder. This year, the choir is focusing on oratorios, and the crowning performance will be a rousing rendition of Handel’s _Messiah_.

“Before we begin practice tonight, there’s a couple of announcements,” Professor Lake says, settling in behind her music stand and waiting for the choir to quiet down. After a few moments, a hush settles across the choir similar to water settling into a bucket, and there’s a brief moment of hesitation before the professor continues.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank Christophe Giacometti, who is this year’s pianist.” She turns and looks at the blond man who is currently settling on the piano bench before turning back to the choir.

“I think there was another announcement or something… I’m not really sure but some other professor wants to remind students about something? If anyone knows anything about this and would like to take over this announcement at any point, please let me know.”

With an expectant gaze, she looks around the room, trying to make eye contact with someone who might know what’s going on.

Yuri, desperate to not be called on, flings his gaze around the room. His eyes dart around, as if he were tracking a mouse, and get caught on a man with an undercut and strong jawline lurking right behind the pianist, impassively staring out at the choir.

When the man notices Yuri staring at him, he evenly meets Yuri’s gaze and begins a staring contest. Yuri is pulled out of the contest early by a loud and eager voice that breaks through his thoughts.

“Professor Swanson from the MUSMS class would like to remind everyone to pick pairs and a topic and that the due date is next class. You can sign up on the Blackboard page.”

 _Pairs?_ Did he hear that right?

When were _pairs_ assigned for the project? When did they have class next? He had to have a partner by then?

Shocked, he looks around the room.

But because he’s Yuri, he does it in a very cool manner: leaning back and casually surveying the room around him.

No one else seems to be surprised.

Gobsmacked, he looks back to where Staring Guy had been standing before. He meets another impassive gaze before his attention is dragged back to the front of the room.

“Yes, thank you JJ. No -”  
  
“Wait,” JJ exclaims, “the VSJS is holding its first meeting of the year, and we’ll be planning out a list of socials … “

JJ’s voice fades into the background as Yuri’s brain hits maximum overdrive.

_How am I supposed to find a pair by next class? Next class is later this week. That explains the gatherings outside the lecture hall…_

“ _Thank_ you JJ. Right. Everyone prepare for warm ups. On the count of four, we sing. One! Two! Three! Ready, Chris? And four!”

They sing.

* * *

Yuri tries to forget about the man and his jawline standing in the choir practice room as practice barrels forward, but it doesn’t work. He keeps meeting the man’s gaze whenever he looks over, and it’s starting to make him think that the guy is staring at him. It feels kind of weird.

And creepy.

By the end of the second hour, they’ve gone through all the pieces once, very roughly. Professor Lake calls for a quick five minute break and tells them to refill the water bottles, as “the last hour is going to be spent on Handel.”

When practice resumes again after break, Yuri looks over to the spot where the guy’s been standing this entire time.

There’s no one there.

Outside, over the noise of the choir, the wind continues to howl.

* * *

“You need a partner,” comes a voice, “and so do I. It only makes sense if we work together.”

“What the hell?!” Yuri exclaims.

He doesn’t have time for this shit; it’s five o’clock in the morning and he’s just leaving the gym because the _best_ time to go is when no one’s there, and he’s tired and exhausted and hungry and _why is the guy from last night beside his locker at the gym at five o’clock in the morning?_

“For the MUSMS assignment. You need a partner. I need a partner. Specifically, I need you.”

Yuri looks at the man blankly. “Me?”

There’s a nod before he continues, “I’ve got the idea and the theme down. You will bring it to life.”

Yuri feels his brain stopping. Inside his mind, a large “CAN NOT COMPUTE” sign starts flashing, neon lights and all.

It doesn’t help him at all.

“Fine,” Yuri says, after a pregnant pause, “I’ll do it.”

Suddenly, a hand is thrust into his face, “Otabek. Otabek Altin.”

Yuri takes the hand hesitantly, suddenly very aware that he’s covered in sweat, “Yuri Plisetsky. Not that other pig Yuuri.”

“I look forward to working with you. We are partners now.”

Otabek’s hand is smooth and his grip is firm and when he withdraws it, Yuri feels strange.

Then, Otabek nods and leaves Yuri alone in the locker room.

* * *

Yuri’s late for the meeting.

And Yuri doesn’t like being late.

(It has something to do with his mother and how she had a fear of being late. It sort of rubbed of onto Yuri. Oh well.)

Well, it’s not _his_ fault that there was an early autumn storm that hit caused power outages and downed traffic lines and that, on top of _all_ of that, the buses were running late!

Understandably, he’s a bit frazzled when he shows up to the library and finds the table that Otabek has claimed.

“Otabek,” he says when he stops at the table where Otabek is currently sitting, spine straight, and a notebook full of ideas resting next to a laptop open to Finale.

“Yuri,” Otabek greets after Yuri has gotten himself settled into the chair across and has pulled out his own notebook.

He wants to apologise for being late.

“Stupid buses were running late,” he says instead.

Otabek makes no outward reaction at the comment, instead moving to gesture at the laptop. “This is what I’ve got so far.”

Yuri leans forward to look at the screen, the top of which has ‘ _Agape_ ’ written in. When Otabek presses play, synthetic organ sounds erupt from the speakers and a vocal line of “ah” rises above it.

Even though Yuri has no idea what _Agape_ means, he likes the feel of the piece.

It cuts off abruptly, and Yuri suddenly realises how loud they were when the heavy sound of silence crashes over him like a wave breaking shore. As he reacquaints himself with the silence in the library, he looks around at the other students and notices the scowls and dirty looks thrown their way. He meets each of the gazes with a sharp glare and scowl of his own, and gradually, the surrounding idiots go back to their own work.

“It’s okay,” Yuri says when he meets Otabek’s gaze.

“It’s not complete,” comes the reply. “You will be singing it.”

Yuri looks at the range of the vocal part Otabek has written in and at the organ score below and then looks back at Otabek.

“That’s clearly out of my range,” Yuri points out. “I’m not a boy soprano; I’m a countertenor.”

What Yuri fails to add is that he _was_ a boy soprano, and that he learned to broaden his range before coming to the school.

Otabek’s gaze is impassive, a throwback to their first interaction at choir last week. “Right now you are an alto, but your range is impressive. You can sing it. You will.”

Yuri glares at Otabek for a moment. The glint in Otabek’s eyes is steel and it looks like there is no way in _hell_ Yuri is going to be able to change his mind.

“Fine,” he huffs, “but I’m not singing it in English. It’s too hard to sing in this damn language.”

Otabek considers that argument with a nod before saying, “I have already come up with rough lyrics. You can sing in whatever language you choose, but you must translate it yourself.”

Yuri rolls his eyes but nods anyway.

When Otabek sees his assent, he nods back and then gestures back to the laptop.

They work.

* * *

When Yuri gets back home, he googles _Agape._

He is not impressed with the definition.

* * *

“I can’t believe you said this was a fun course,” Yuri whines to Viktor when he sits down on the stool near the cash which Viktor is manning today.

It’s not like he _wants_ to see Viktor Nikiforov’s stupid face, but Mila is in class and Georgi… Georgi is not available at the moment, and Yuri needs to whine to someone.

So stupid Viktor Nikiforov was the only option.

He trekked across campus to the on campus cafe for this and _Viktor doesn’t even bother to apologise for lying._

“It is! It’s how Yuuri and I met!” Viktor chirps after handing over the change from the order he rang through.

Yuri smashes his head against the counter in front of him. “ _Ugh_.”

_How can Viktor still be talking about this?_

“Don’t worry, Yura! Just have fun with the assignment! It’ll be _fine_! Trust me!”

“Yea, but I actually have to do _work_ for it, unlike you who probably just rode on Katsuki’s coattails,” Yuri snaps back as he lifts his head to meet Viktor’s gaze.

There’s a flash of anger in Viktor’s eyes, but before he has a chance to respond, the door opens with a chime and another customer comes in.

_Saved by the bell._

“Yuuri~!” Viktor calls when he notices his boyfriend walking in.

Yuri groans, puts his face against the counter again, and resigns himself to an hour of increasingly sickening public displays of affection.

* * *

Autumn’s early arrival did nothing to predict just how brutal she would be to her subjects. Rain hammers down on her kingdom for the entire month of October and in November, she toys with the temperatures, sending them swooping from single digits to double digits and back overnight.

Sickness runs rampant across campus as a result of her meddling, and Yuri really hopes that whatever plague is coming from the first year residences doesn’t affect him because _he needs his voice to be perfect._

He managed to hunt down a Latin major in the city and paid for a few coffees in exchange for translating the lyrics Otabek had sent. The poor girl looked exhausted, so Yuri, out of sympathy he didn’t know he was capable of, bought her another coffee.

She was so thankful, she cried a little.

Having studied Italian in first year, he knows how easy the lyrics will be to sing, and he starts singing the song, trying to remember the definition of _Agape_ and channel in that…feeling.

Needless to say, it doesn’t go to plan.

* * *

Otabek’s handsome face smirks out at him, white teeth shining brightly in the grey setting and contrasting harshly with his dark rain coat.

“Are you sick?” is the first question that flies out of Otabek’s mouth as they walk toward the organ practice room.

Yuri looks up, confused, and meets Otabek’s intense gaze. “I don’t think so.”

There’s a nod, a confused glance at the very thick scarf Yuri is sporting to keep his voice warm (even though it’s one of those days where the temperature is in the upper range of the single digits), and then Otabek stops in front of an unremarkable door and punches in a code. With a green beep, the door unlocks and Otabek nudges it open, holding it open long enough for Yuri to slide in behind him.

The organ sits against the wall, a glorious relic of days past, and Otabek moves toward it as if pulled by magnetic attraction. He pulls out his laptop and rests it on the small table next to the organ before sliding onto the bench and getting ready to play.

The completed melody is soft and innocent, like one of its composers, and enhanced by an organ that is unwavering in its support, no matter how many instruments they will eventually lay over it.

Yuri pulls his own music out. After warming up his voice and getting a tuning note, Otabek nods and Yuri starts the recording.

Yuri starts off the piece, voice already climbing toward the upper part of his range as Otabek comes in on the organ, supportive and gentle, notes swirling softly like the autumn winds of September that carried leaves away.

He’s used to being a soloist, being supported by a thousand voices of different instruments, and this piece is no different. As they trek onwards to the climax of the piece, slow and steady, Yuri’s voice flies higher and higher, and Otabek is always there to catch him.

At the peak, the chaos of the piece builds before collapsing and lending itself to an ending similar of the way the piece began - with Otabek’s swirling notes and Yuri’s angelic voice, blending itself together until the music fades.

Yuri rushes towards the laptop to stop the recording as Otabek extracts himself from the mess that is an organ. When he’s free, he joins Yuri over at the laptop, and they listen to the piece. At the end, Otabek is the first to break his silence.

“No.”

_NO?_

“There’s no emotion in this, Yura. You’re missing the spirit of love.” Otabek looks at Yuri from the corner of his eye, and Yuri feels his heart rate pick up. “ _Agape_ is unconditional love. A love a father has for his son.”

Instantly, Yuri’s mind is hit with images of his grandfather always being there for him, even when he didn’t have to be.

Otabek’s next words draw Yuri out of his head.

“I think we need saxophone. Alto. As a counter to the melody I play.”

Yuri looks back at Otabek before exclaiming, " _Saxophone?”_

Is Otabek seriously planning to ruin _innocent love_ with some instrument that sounds like a ship’s horn and is commonly used in _red light districts?_

“I was listening to  _Rhapsodie for Alto Saxophone_ _and Organ_ by Debussy, and I think it could work,” Otabek says, “but if you disagree, I’m sure we can find an instrument we both agree would fit.”

By some miracle of miracles, Yuri knows the piece being referenced.

And he has to grudgingly admit that Otabek has a good idea.

“Fine. But if we lose marks because some sexy instrument was brought in instead of a more innocent one, it’s on you.”

Otabek nods.

And they take the piece from the top.

* * *

Presentation day.

Outside, autumn’s playfully terrible winds have been replaced with winter’s bitter howling, and the campus sits under a dark snow cloud and blizzard warning.

It’s almost like a throwback to when Otabek and Yuri first met, at that disastrous choir practice day of the raging rainstorm.

Yuri’s in his best tux, as is Otabek, who is sporting a matching top hat. To Yuri’s disgust,  he is wearing one, too.

(“What is that disgusting thing on your head?!” “A hat, Yuri.” “I _know_ that! Why are there two?” “So we look like a team.” “I’m not wearing that.” “Would you rather wear bows?” “Ugh! Fine, I’ll wear the stupid hat.”)

The rest of the class of fourteen is spread out in the performance hall, relaxing after doing their presentations and a few professors sit near Professor Swanson in the front row.

Yuri and Otabek herd their orchestra onto the stage; it’s a strange collection of musicians consisting of a percussion major by the name of Leo (who, in Yuri’s opinion, is too happy to help), a saxophonist by the name of Phichit (who is one of Katsuki’s friends that Viktor knows and convinced to help out), and Viktor, Mila, and a few of Viktor’s fellow string majors.

Yuri is still in awe, because somehow _Agape_ needed the alto saxophone, and the way Phichit plays the part, innocent yet confident, ties the song together, bridging voice and organ and making them into one.

(Still, who thought an innocent song that makes Yuri feel like he’s being held by the mother he can barely remember would need something like a _saxophone?_ )

As the musicians scurry around the the stage trying to get themselves set up, Yuri heads to centre stage. There is no microphone for him; instead, he is expected to make use of his opera training and project the sound by himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Otabek getting ready and in position, his back as stiff as board and the tails of his tuxedo hanging down over the bench. The organ towers over all of them, as impressive as the one in the organ practice room, pipes gleaming gold.

With a cue from the professor, Yuri opens his mouth and _sings._

Throughout the entire presentation, he keeps his mind firmly locked on his grandfather and how much they love each other. It’s the same series of memories he had used at their last practice, when Otabek said Yuri’s singing was noticeably different, and Yuri hopes he manages to convey the meaning of agape he’s discovered through his singing.

At the last second, a brief image of Otabek sitting at a towering organ crosses through his mind, and Yuri almost misses the last note in his shock.

When the auditorium fades silent after the final note, there’s a moment where Yuri can hear nothing but his heart beating wildly.

And then thunderous applause races across the room.

Well, as thunderous as 12 students and four shocked profs can be.

When Yuri takes a bow and steps back to gesture to the strange orchestra assembled behind him, he sees Otabek shoot him a subtle but proud thumbs up.

_They did it._

* * *

**Otabek:** After the presentation and before Jury starts up, let’s get coffee.

 **You:** _typing..._

 **You:** Okay.

* * *

Coffee is quiet.

As most things with Otabek are.

Otabek is content to sit in silence for hours and doesn’t ever force Yuri to speak or bring up inane conversation topics to be discussed.

Which just makes him _so_ much better than Viktor or Mila.

The winds outside the cafe howl bloody murder as snowflakes are violently whipped down the already snow covered streets, and Yuri watches the idiots who were stupid enough to go out in this weather.

(He refuses to acknowledge that he also was out in this weather. But it was to see  _Otabek_. So that doesn’t count, because if Otabek needed him to, Yuri would climb to the top of Mount Everest. Or go to space.)

(Suddenly he understands _Agape._ )

The cafe is playing horrible Christmas carols and a couple that looks like Viktor and Yuuri walks right next to the window where Otabek and Yuri are sitting.

Startled, Yuri scowls at them as they keep walking past.

“I have a recording from Professor Swanson,” Otabek breaks the silence, speaking to the window as if he’s too embarrassed to meet Yuri’s gaze. “Do you want to hear it?”

He offers over an earbud when Yuri says yes, and they both lean in towards each other as Otabek calls up the song.

It’s just as beautiful as Yuri felt when performing it, and suddenly, he realises why they got thunderous applause.

The emotion in his voice is _incredible._

After the piece is over, Yuri hands back the earbud wordlessly. They finish their coffees in silence, and then Yuri abruptly realises he doesn’t want this coffee _thing_ to end.

Otabek seems to feel the same way because right before they duck back out into the the howling winds, he draws Yuri towards him and awkwardly brushes his lips across his forehead.

Yuri didn’t know he needed Otabek’s soft lips against his forehead until they were there, brushing against the top of his forehead with the softest of pressures.

He has never felt this feeling before - warm, soft, safe, and content, all simultaneously mixing together to make a blanket of emotions he feels like he can wrap himself in.

This is _Agape,_ Yuri can’t help but think as Otabek looks into his eyes with nothing but love written in them.

True _Agape_ indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> THANKS FOR READING! I hope you enjoyed!  
> Disclaimer: I'm not a vocalist (I have been trained but I never got good enough to get anywhere) so if there's anything whishywashy about the vocal stuff, I'm claiming it as artistic liberties.
> 
> I tried to put the link in for the song in the actual work, but it didn't work.  
> [Rhapsodie for Alto Saxophone and Organ by Debussy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5mpWESJMWo)
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated! If you catch any glaring mistakes, please drop a line!! Thanks :)
> 
> Come scream at me!  
> [tumblr](http://pigfarts23.tumblr.com)  
> [personal tumblr](http://therealpigfarts23.tumblr.com)  
> 


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